Chapter 32.2

Translated by Aviana

Yang Tiezhu again picked up scrambled eggs and put them in his wife’s bowl. From the start, his expression didn’t change one bit; apparently, he had ‘experienced this sort of battlefield for a long time’.

Lin Qingwan picked the rice in the bowl and ate the dishes given by her husband, feeling the dishes prepared today are quite delicious. Moreover, after their dispute, strangely, she didn’t feel blocked up in her heart anymore. En, it seems that her natural temperament was also a bit evil.

She found one thing. A moment ago, when He-shi and Elder sister Yang were bawling, He-shi didn’t have any tears. She was merely crying out loud without tears. But elder sister Yang had genuine tears.

Evaluating from her string of actions in this short amount of time, this woman was definitely not a good crop and seems to be several ranks higher than He-shi. Speak about pretending to be pitiful; she can at once acts as being pitiful. Speak about crying; at once, she can summon out her tears. Speak about fanning the flames; she can simply jab at other people’s hearts. If it weren’t for Wang-shi’s timely interruption, she and Yang Tiezhu would have had to eat He-shi’s ‘ribs’.

善茬(shàn chá) : (literally means good crop) It is used as a metaphor the people who are easy to deal with.

吃排骨 (chī páigǔ): Eating ribs, is an idiom colloquially used by the people of northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong. It’s meaning is to receive criticism.

Her face was even thicker than Wang-shi’s, and she can cry even better than He-shi’s forceable crying out loud without tears and can simply change her face as if turning the pages. Lin Qingwan secretly decided in her heart that she would stay a bit far away from this woman.

This kind of person is a hybrid version of “White Lotus”, and is even more difficult to deal with than an ordinary one.

When they were having a meal, the entire time couldn’t be considered calm at all with Wang-shi’s continuous mutterings that all the meat was finished. Over there, kids also had some conflicts and fought among each other, and Yang Dalang ended up pushing Dahu onto the ground.

This Dahu must have perhaps snatched his meat. Having lost his meat, he must have decided to use force.

Dahu sat on the ground and started bawling. An 8-9-year-old kid ended up crying while kicking his feet, with his tears running on his oily face.

Elder sister Yang also could not bother about eating meat anymore; she quickly hurried over and picked her son up into her embrace.

“Dalang, you are older than Dahu. How can you bully your younger brother?”

Yang Dalang was also aggrieved. “He snatched my meat. After eating the meat in his bowl, he took one from my bowl too.” Dalang also felt he was wronged, alright. Who puts their chopsticks in other’s bowl and take their food.

When Wang-shi heard elder sister Yang criticize her son, she also stopped eating and ran to give her son support.

“Does anyone eat like this? You can snatch meat from other people’s bowls, but they can’t push you?” Wang-shi pulled her son towards her and angrily retorted.

“Besides, Dalang didn’t do deliberately either. My family’s son’s meat was grabbed by him and accidentally ended up using more strength, resulting in him being pushed down.” Wang-shi spoke forcefully with justice; her words were indeed acceptable. “If you have the ability to criticize my family’s Dalang, you might as well discipline your family’s Dahu. I, your sao, this while have never seen anyone snatch food from other’s bowl and eat, isn’t it like a dog.”

振振有 词 (zhènzhènyǒucí ): to speak forcefully and with justice (idiom); to argue with the courage of one’s convictions

嫂 (sǎo): older brother’s wife / sister-in-law

The last sentence was just like firing a canon. However, elder sister Yang didn’t go and tear apart Wang-shi; rather, she squatted on the ground with her son in her arms and began to cry.

“My poor son, it’s your mother who isn’t capable enough and couldn’t even afford you meat to eat. With great difficulty, you were able to eat meat at your grandpa and grandma’s place, but then you were called a dog…”

Yang laoyezi’s beard stood from anger, but he also didn’t know on whom he should be angry. He-shi’s fighting prowess was also not any less. Seeing Wang-shi bully her daughter to tears, she at once stood up and flung her bowl at Wang-shi.

“As a sister-in-law, how can you be like that? What are you talking drivel recklessly for? Do you think I, this old lady, have died?” He-shi jumped three chi high.

尺 (chǐ): a Chinese foot/one-third of a meter

The rice bowl hit Wang-shi and rolled down. She didn’t feel pain when it hit her, but the rice and soup dripped down from her shoulder onto her whole body. He-shi was fond of eating pickled cabbage soup at every meal. As such more than half of the bowl was filled with soup.

These times tables had turned, and Wang-shi was the one who felt wronged,” That wasn’t my intention; those words came just like that.” She could only say that those words came in the flow, and she couldn’t stop her mouth in time.

What was initially been reasonable at first became utterly unjustifiable. Wang-shi took deep breaths in anger, making her entire face red.

Seeing the situation in front of her, Lin Qingwan felt her head becoming big. She secretly tugged at Yang Tiezhu, signaling that they should quickly leave. Both of them stood up and walked out of the room after notifying Yang laoyezi.

Before leaving, Lin Qingwan signaled Yao-shi with her eyes.

Actually, Lin Qingwan didn’t have to give her a look; Yao-shi was already planning to leave. In this sort of spectacle, both husband and wife never dared to interfere. Both of them also followed out of the main room after them.

Even while sitting in her room, Lin Qingwan could still hear He-shi’s tongue lashing and elder sister’s tongue lashing, along with Wang-shi’s occasional retorts all the way from the main room.

Yang Tiezhu sighed as he took Lin Qingwan’s hand. “My eldest sister is not easy to deal with. In the future, stay away from a bit.”

Lin Qingwan glared at him, “You don’t need to say, I also know.”

Yang Tiezhu rubbed his wife’s hand, “Then, it’s good.” He squeezed her hand and sighed again, “Wife, you recently have lost a lot of weight; your hands also have become a lot thinner.” When he held her hand, he only felt bones, without any flesh. His wife used to have more flesh and less bones before and very were soft to touch.

He couldn’t help but feel distressed, “In the next two days, I will go into the forest on the mountain and bring back a few pheasants or hares to help you nourish your body.”

Lin Qingwan pursed her mouth with a frown on her eyebrows; her face had an expression of being wronged.

“Even if you bring back a bit, I still wouldn’t be able to eat it. In the past, I was unable to win against your eldest sao from snatching, now we also have your eldest sister.”

Yang Tiezhu sighed. This, he was also aware.

He hugged his wife in distress, slowly coaxing her while swaying her along with him, “Then I’ll roast it outside before bringing it back, then you can eat in our room itself.”

Have to say, the simple and honest Yang Tiezhu had learned bad things after marriage for him to go as far as to take the initiative by himself to say that for the sake of favoring his wife. But it wasn’t like as if he hadn’t done anything like this before. When he was hungry, the old hunter would feed him till his stomach was full, and afterward, he also taught him how to cook.

Lin Qingwan lips curved a bit, and she turned around to hug her husband in a pampered and charming manner.

“It’s okay.” She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulled his face down, and gave him a peck, “Seeing that you are not only sensible but also love your wife dearly, this is your reward.”

Yang Tiezhu at once became dumbfounded, unable to find where north is.

Encouraged by Lin Qingwan’s kiss, Yang Tiezhu went out that very afternoon as if he had been injected with chicken blood and only came back in the evening when it was time to eat dinner.

Upon returning, he made a beeline to his own room and came out only after a while.

The atmosphere at dinner was very heavy. Even elder sister Yang didn’t pick the dishes anymore. After the fight, Yang laoyezi much have had a word with her. Over there, kids also ate silently. The fuss in the afternoon must have frightened them a bit.

After eating, Yang laoyezi cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“Your sister Yang will stay at home for few more days elder sister will stay at home for a few more days. As her gege, sao, didi, and dimei, you all should cut her some slack. She was also born under an ill-star to have such a husband’s family.”

哥哥 (gēge): older brother

弟弟 (dìdi): younger brother

嫂 (sǎo): one’s elder brother’s wife

弟妹 (dìmèi): one’s younger brother’s wife

Yang laoyezi hadn’t finished speaking but had already sighed several times by now. Even though everyone had a bit of complaint, it was a bit hard to say now. Anyhow, every time elder sister Yang comes to visit her natal family, she would stay for a few days every time, and they also have learned to keep their face calm in the face of unexpected situations a long time ago.

见怪不怪 (jiànguàibùguài): to keep one’s calm in the face of the unexpected / not to wonder at strange sights

“As for where to live, it would be the same as the one in the past.” Hearing this, Wang-shi was immediately unhappy. Because every time first younger sister Yang comes, her two sons would sleep with Dalang and few others in their room, while the mother and her daughter would sleep in Yang Ermei’s room. Today, after all the ruckus, she will be again sleeping in their room, who wouldn’t have any objections with this.

She opened her mouth, wishing to say something. But before she could even say something, Yang Tieshuan pulled her hand and gave her a look. She at once became silent, with her mouth deflated.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Yang laoyezi immediately waved his hands for them to leave.

Read only at Travis Translations